I really enjoy southern literature and love nothing better than reading a book like this with a Southern accent in my head.

The story of CeeCee Honeycutt begins when Camille Sugarbaker Honeycutt, the pretty but crazy 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen, dies suddenly, her twelve year old daughter CeeCee is whisked off by her Great Aunt Tootie to the city of Savannah and here CeeCee makes new friends and starts a new life.

This novel started out really promising and had me turning the pages quite quickly but after about 100 pages in I found the story was too sweet and too safe. I wanted something to happen but the story just seems to plod along and although there are some interesting issues brought up such as mental illness and racism I feel that they were never addressed properly in the novel.

I did however enjoy some of the charactersa and there are some witty moments in the Novel

This is a nice easy read but think I had been expecting something like [b:Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe|9375|Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe|Fannie Flagg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165961740s/9375.jpg|2129359] which was a book that I loved. ( )

CeeCee's mother's bipolar illness and resulting antics have ostracized her from her fellow students and many of the townspeople. Her father travels for work and generally makes himself absent, leaving CeeCee to care for her mother. Her one friend is her 80 something neighbor, Mrs. Odell. When the inevitable tragedy occurs, her great aunt Tootie comes and takes her to her home in Savannah. There she meets Oletta, Tootie's Black cook. There are a lot of quirky characters who take CeeCee under their wings or offer advice. There were lots of good stories here and CeeCee finds her way through her grief with there help. There were also some improbabilities and unbelievable incidents. Overall very good. ( )

It's not often that a book with so little major conflict, a happy ending, and sweet and kind characters, gets the kind of acclaim that Beth Hoffman's debut novel, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, is getting. Often compared to The Help and Steel Magnolias (or a cross between the two), it's a lovely example of what I love most about Southern Literature. Simply oozing with southern charm, lush language, eccentric characters, and descriptions that had me ready to pack my bags, I thoroughly enjoyed Saving CeeCee Honeycutt from start to finish. The young heroine, CeeCee, leaves the only life she's known in Ohio after her mentally unstable mother commits suicide and her absent father sends her to live with her Great Aunt Tallulah (or Tootie). Upon arriving at Tootie's gorgeous home in Savannah, Georgia, CeeCee is welcomed into a new world, one which is stable, loving, and where money is no longer an issue. In Oletta, Tootie's housekeeper and cook, CeeCee finds the only girlfriend she's ever known, and discovers the joys of friendship, with all its camaraderie, mischief, trust, and comfort. CeeCee spends an idyllic summer in Savannah, lolling on the porch with her books, sipping iced tea, learning the gossip about the neighbors, and being fawned over by Tootie (who has no children of her own, and is widowed) and her gaggle of friends. Throughout this summer, CeeCee heals and finds the courage to face the realities of the new life still ahead of her. Sure, there are small conflicts that the characters face; this is, after all, the south in the Civil Rights era. However, the novel is infused with humor, warmth, and charm, and overall, left me with a contented glow and a yearning for a trip to the south! I recommend for anyone looking for a lovely summer read, or a wonderful and uplifting story, or who loves Southern Literature. Let me know... I do have a copy I'm willing to part with! ( )

2.5 stars. I might call it a cute story, but it couldn't seem to make up its mind whether it was an adult or a children's book and was a bit overly saccharine anyway. ( )

CeeCee is 12 years old when her mother dies and her usually-absent father decides to send her to live with her great-aunt in Georgia. CeeCee, even though her father is usually away, is still hesitant to leave, but once she arrives in Georgia she becomes great friends with Aunt Tootie’s cook(?).

I listened to the audio. This was pretty slow-moving, but an ok book. Not a whole lot really happened. I did find it odd that CeeCee was really only making friends with women much older than she is. She did make one friend her age, and I assume – had the book continued into the school year – she and her new friend her own age would have been the story at that point. Anyway, this one was ok for me. ( )